Noah Steinauer, a student in the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality graduating this May with his Master of Science in Event Management, tells us a bit about his NYU experience and how he balances being a student and working full-time for JDRF International.
What is your background?
I’m originally from Omaha, Nebraska, then lived in New Orleans, and now Brooklyn. I began working events in the live music industry, and you’ll still find me managing hospitality or other production areas for festivals or concerts.
What do you do for work? How did you get involved with your job?
I work full-time for JDRF International, the leading nonprofit for type 1 diabetes research and advocacy. I’m helping develop our operations strategy for events and experiences as we face a new landscape for budgeting, staffing, logistics, and more.
A well-executed experience can make a lasting impact on individuals and communities. It wields the power to create lifelong memories on the dance floor, or even to fund lifesaving cures for a disease. Developing my ability to achieve maximum results using this power is what brought me to the program. I’ve loved learning new ways to leverage events to reach organizational and personal goals.
What has your experience as a student been like?
Studying full-time at the Tisch Center while also working full-time is definitely challenging, but not impossible. I’ve focused on effective prioritization and communication in order to successfully juggle work, life, and school the past two years. Oh, and that pandemic, too!
How do you balance working full-time with also being a full-time student?
Prioritizing can be tough, even painful at times. Some things need to get put on the backburner, reimagined, or even (dare I say it as an event manager) canceled. So, for those of you out there who are like me and sometimes aren’t perfect, it’s important to remember that you are human, especially when making tough choices. That’s where communication comes into play. Talk to your professors, classmates, coworkers, roommates, dogs, and friends. Keep them updated on how it’s all going, and you’ll find that people can be quite understanding.
It has been incredibly helpful and rewarding to see my work, life, and studies come together as complements of one another. I love an opportunity to bring work experiences to the classroom or apply insights from my studies to better my organization. Everyone is better off with the shared insights, and it’s ultimately more effective for my own learning and productivity. Working smarter as they say.
Anything else you’d like to share?
If you’re a prospective student considering your own double life as a student and professional, you’ve got this! And if you’re graduating with me in a few weeks, cheers! Either way, I’d love to connect and share our experiences.